I was pleasantly surprised at how the Matusalem came close - but not quite as good - as the Havana Club. The Matusalem is a very good substitute for the HC.

There was no real winner in all this - they're too different - but the Bacardi was the clear loser. It had the worst ethanol smell, and was the harshest of the bunch. However, mixed in Rum & Cokes only the HC & Bacardi tasted good - the others were OK, though the Clement was the worst (it's just not right for an R&C).

I hope to get a full write-up within the next couple days. I kept good notes during the process.
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I'm fortunate enough to have Havana Club readily available,so thats what i use for a white rum.I'm yet to try Matusalem as its $50Aus compared to $30Aus for the Havana and i cant justify spending that much more just on a base mixer.
As for Bacardi 8,i have to say its one of my favourite rums to drink neat.If all Bacardi rums were that good maybe people would think differently about them.

For Mojitos I like 10 Cane for Top Shelf and Matusalem for well. I also have Myers Platnum and Cruzan White which I have not tried in a mojito, I generally use those for mixing with juices. I have been enjoying the heck out of Oronoco Brazilian rum. I bet that would make a killer mojito although a bit pricing for slammin. For a twist try Corazon Blanco Tequila in a mojito in place of rum, very yummy!

On 2007-06-09 21:17, DJ HawaiianShirt wrote:I'm trying to find a good white rum for making mojitos, and I just can't bring myself to use Bacardi.

I remember I liked the taste of the Tommy Bahama White Sand (as ridiculous as it is), but there's no way I'll pay that price for a whole bottle.

What is a white rum that is so good it would actually make something like a mojito taste different?

I'll probably get laughed at for this, but have you ever tried Port Royal? It's a very nice, inexpensive, Virgin Islands' rum. It's not as nice as a Cruzan, but then again, it's better than Bacardi. I picked up a Liter for around eleven dollars last week, and I have been happy with its results. There is another brand "Chesapeake" that tastes about the same, and if memory serves me, also comes from the Virgin Islands. They are pretty easy to get there in Baltimore, but then again we are home to about a dozen distilleries.

Havana Club is the best white rum I've ever tasted, but 1: I'm not an expert in whites, just to say "cool" and "sucks", and 2:Havana white it's not exactly white. It's 3 years aged and it has a (very) pale golden color. Still, it's the best I have tasted, great for daiquiris.

Anyone has tried St James white? They got it in the store where I get the Ambre, and I always look at it with desire, but never get a bottle of it, and it's 10 euro (like 14$) the fifth, not very expensive, but still a couple of bucks more than the Havana. I think I never got it because I can't remember any recipe that calls for "white Martinique rum". Any comment?
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St. James white will be an agricole blanc, which is most likely going to be *very* different from any whites you've had. I would not recommend it until you get a chance to try an agricole, but if you like to try new thing you might want to try it. Agricoles are quite fruity, very floral, and won't taste much like molasses.

The Pegu Club, The Flat Iron Lounge and the Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan (all of which are pretty much Cocktail Mecca) all pour Brugal White as their well rum, and with good reason. It's clean, reliable and ridiculously inexpensive.

I like the Ron Matusalem Platino Rum as well as the 10 Cane, but I think that they are both overpriced for use in a mojito. Cruzan White is alright, although I think it's not very clean tasting (it has a bit of a funky, peasantish aftertaste, and I love their Blackstrap Navy Rum however). Flor de Caña White (and Gold) is another nice, clean inexpensive rum. In many markets you can find 1.75 Liter bottles for a steal in many areas.

At Scottes' FOM Rum Tasting, Palo Viejo was the best of the bunch, which included Cruzan and...and...man, we tasted a lot of rum! We tried it neat, which is not usually the function of a white rum, but we'll be putting it through it's paces tomorrow night. Full report will be posted first thing Monday! Well, maybe second.

Cruzan is not bad either, though; big fan of Havana Club too.
_________________Let it not be said that I ran for Mayor of Exotica on a platform of lower taxes and less corruption. My platform is lower rum prices, less reality TV and more rights for Pandas!

Well, yes, you're right. But for some reason, here isn't available the "añejo blanco", but the three years. And this one isn't a gold rum, so I think it's just an slightly aged white rum, without being a gold one. I guess that gives it some more body and character. But just guessing. And I can't buy the "añejo blanco" one, so what else could I do?
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On 2007-11-09 04:12, BastardoSaffrin wrote:Well, yes, you're right. But for some reason, here isn't available the "añejo blanco", but the three years. And this one isn't a gold rum, so I think it's just an slightly aged white rum, without being a gold one. I guess that gives it some more body and character. But just guessing. And I can't buy the "añejo blanco" one, so what else could I do?

Interesting. Well, I can't get any Havana Club rums in my country -- but I live 20 minutes from the border of Mexico where I can buy it. And the only rums that I've seen available are Anejo Blanco, Anejo Especial and Anejo 7 Anos. Haven't seen nor tasted the 3 Anos. So I guess you can consider yourself lucky in that regard. And you're probably right, the 3 Anos is probably very close to Anejo Blanco, but perhaps with a light oak flavor?
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